The present invention relates to portraiture printing. In particular, the present invention relates to printing photographic portraits by digitally scanning film negatives, processing scanned negatives, and printing scanned negatives.
Portraiture cameras are used for taking portraits of individuals and groups. For example, Hopson U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,745 entitled "Camera System" discloses a portrait camera system and is incorporated herein by reference. The camera system is used to take portraits of a large number of individuals such as students for school pictures. The camera system records bar code information on the exposed film along each image. The bar code information relates, for instance, to order information, student number, and the like. This information can be used to control the number and size of print (or product) produced. The student number is used to aid in distribution of prints.
The camera system of Hopson patent substantially reduces the labor required of a photographer to record information relating to orders and student numbers. However, film produced by the camera system of Hopson is still printed on photographic paper using standard printing techniques in which light is shined through the film negative to image the portrait on the photographic paper.
Further automation of the photographic process is important in portraiture printing to speed production, reduce costs, and improve accuracy. One such system is described in Goenner U.S. Pat. No. 5,029,312 entitled "Automatic Portraiture Printer Control System" which is incorporated herein by reference. The Goenner patent describes an automated printing system in which subject is identified within a portrait image. This information is used during the printing process to control printing of the subject.